In many cleaning operations and also in finishing operations for a floor or a similar surface there is used a member. The member is used for cleaning purposes and is used for finishing purposes for buffing the floor. Also, the member can be used for removing particles from the floor to present a new surface. For example, with tile it may be desirable to remove the exposed thin layer of the tile to have fresh tile exposed for buffing and also for waxing. In other instances it may be desirable to clean the tile or the floor with a cleaning solution prior to waxing and buffing the floor. The tile can be terrazzo tile or can be ceramic tile.
Such a member can be a pad or a mat for cleaning purposes, abrading purposes, buffing and polishing purposes. With the member moving and rotating the particles of the floor or surface being worked move into the member and harm the effect of the member for cleaning, abrading, polishing and buffing purposes. For example, with a fibrous mat, the fibrous mat becomes a repository for the particles of dirt, wax, plastic and the like. The particles become enmeshed in the interstices of the pad or mat and coat parts or all of the pad or mat. The result is that the effectiveness of the pad or mat is lessened or may be destroyed.
The pad or mat may be circular, oblong, eliptical, square or rectangular in configuration. Also, the pad or mat need not be a fibrous mat but can be a plastic mat, a polishing mat, an abrasive mat or a cork mat to name a few other suitable pads or mats.
With the interstices of the pad or mat filled with particles, the pad or mat does not function effectively. In many instances, it is necessary to clean the pad or mat so that it can function effectively. Prior to this invention the cost of cleaning low cost pads or mats such as a fibrous mat has been relatively high compared to the cost of a new fibrous mat. Also, the mat in many instances was not sufficiently cleaned to justify the time and the expense of cleaning the mat. It is my understanding that some people would clean a pad or a mat by directing a stream of water from a hose, such as a garden hose, onto the mat. Generally, this process was time consuming and did not adequately clean the pad or the mat. Therefore, instead of taking the effort and the time to clean the soiled fibrous mat, the soiled fibrous mat had been discarded or thrown away and a new mat installed and used. With this invention I have devised an apparatus and method making it possible to clean a pad or a mat and free the pad or mat from particles enmeshed in the interstices of the pad or mat.